A £2million programme to tackle child obesity has been announced by the public health minister, Melanie Johnson.
The package is funded by the departments of health and education and illustrates the government's concern at the growth in obesity, which has risen three fifths in boys and two fifths in girls in nine years.
The 500-school programme will have different approaches in different regions. These include; cookery clubs, attempts to improve the quality of the increasingly popular school breakfasts, and moves to encourage pupils to understand where food comes from.
Approximately 225 schools in the south-west will be trying to make healthy tuck shops a reality with plenty of fruit and vegetables sharing space with sweets and crisps.
Johnson said: “Children who are overweight or obese face greater risk of serious illness later in life, such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer. Obesity itself is responsible for 31,000 premature deaths each year.”
However, shadow health and education secretary Tim Yeo has said a more comprehensive strategy is needed both in and out of schools.”
Paul Burstow, the Liberal Democrat health spokesman, said: “The threat of a childhood obesity epidemic is now so serious, ministers should be announcing more than a handful of pilot projects. A whole society approach is required.”